FORT WORTH – Aminah Orozco has been named head coach for Texas Wesleyan volleyball. Orozco served as assistant coach for UNT volleyball during the 2023 previous season and prior to her time in Denton she was head coach at The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha, Okla.

During her time at UNT, Orozco played a key role in helping the Mean Green finish with a 17-15 (11-8 AAC) record and compete in their third National Invitational Volleyball Championship.

While at USAO, Orozco led the team to its highest win totals in program history finishing with a 23-25 record and back-to-back Sooner Athletic Conference tournament appearances.

In her first season, she led the Drovers to a 14-13 record which was a massive improvement from the previous season. She also coached four all-conference honorees and currently holds the program record for most career wins.

As a player, Orozco captured all-conference selections at Vernon College and Saint Gregory’s University. She graduated from Saint Gregory’s in 2013 with her bachelor’s degree in biology.

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SAN ANGELO – West Texas A&M claimed the 2021 Lone Star Conference Volleyball Tournament Championship with a 3-0 victory over St. Edward’s in the final Saturday in San Angelo, Texas.

WT (23-4) won its 16th LSC tournament title and earned the league’s automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship. The Lady Buffs, who played in the championship match for the 17th time, improved to 16-1 in the tournament final.

SEU, who finished with a 16-12 overall record, saw its remarkable postseason run as the 10th seed end in the final.

The 2021 NCAA DII championship field will be announced Monday, November 22 at 6:30 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.

2021 LSC Volleyball Championship All-Tournament Team
Torrey Miller, West Texas A&M – Tournament MVP
Chandler Vogel, West Texas A&M
Kayla Elliott, West Texas A&M
Sarah Konovodoff, St. Edward’s
Kaitlyn Krafka, St. Edward’s
Maya Smalls, St. Edward’s
Sage Chain, Lubbock Christian
Jalee Sims, Lubbock Christian
Taurie Magee, UT Permian Basin
Isela Murillo, UT Permian Basin
Chloe Patton, Angelo State
Halee Van Poppel, DBU
Morgan Demuth, Oklahoma Christian
Evelyn Torres, UT Tyler
Jasmine Gannon, Eastern New Mexico
Julia Aleman, St. Mary’s
Celeste Vela, Texas A&M-Commerce
Chloe Alderson, UAFS

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – On Saturday afternoon in the Abe Lemons Arena, the SAGU Volleyball team won the 2021 Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Championship for the first time in program history. They defeated Wayland Baptist University in three sets with scores of 25-21, 25-19, and 25-23. The Lady Lions only lost one set throughout the entirety of the tournament. With this championship win, SAGU Volleyball has officially clinched a spot in the NAIA National Tournament.
 
“Our kids played an outstanding match today,” head coach Hank Moore said. “Our offense stayed fast throughout the match. Our defense was incredible. All of our kids played very hard. This was a huge win for our program. I’m very proud of the entire team. Our first conference tournament championship and our first automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament.”
 
Alexis Mealer led the SAGU offense once again with 19 kills hitting .255 throughout the match. Mealer accounted for 20.5 points against the Pioneers. Abby Wells added 12 kills, hitting .370 in the match while Ava Myers totaled 7 kills. Riley Burcham had a championship performance as she accounted for 36 assists, 14 digs, and 3 kills. Tessa Glick led the SAGU backcourt with 17 digs, giving her 544 digs on the year.
 
As a team, the Lady Lions ended the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament with a .240 hitting percentage and 140 kills while their opponents hit just .112. SAGU also totaled 196 digs, 17 aces, and 12 blocks throughout the tournament.
 
Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Statistics
 
Alexis Mealer was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, and Riley Burcham was also named to the All-Tournament Team. Mealer ended the tournament totaling 53 kills and averaging 5.30 kills per set. She hit .293 over the three games played. Riley Burcham put together a brilliant performance over the three games played in the tournament as she totaled 112 assists averaging 11.20 assist per set. She also led all players in service aces with 5 and added 40 digs.
 
The Lady Lions will now await to hear who their opponent will be at the 42^nd NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship Opening Round.  The opening rounds are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 20 at various NAIA schools across the country. The Volleyball national championship includes a field of 48 teams. Forty-Eight teams will compete in 24 national championship opening round matches played on campus sites nationwide on November 20th. Opening round winners will advance to the final site for a 24-team pool play tournament. One team from each pool advances to single-elimination championship play. The final championship site will be held at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux, Iowa.

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WICHITA FALLS – The Belles, playing their first conference road match of the season, were able to come out on top against a stingy Mustangs squad, despite the home team taking the second set from the Belles. 

The Belles outkilled the hosts 51-42 and hit .254 on the night, slightly above their season average while holding the Mustangs to .123 hitting percentage, slightly below the season average for Belles’ opponents.  

The lead changed hands multiple times in the first set, before the Mustangs led set two start to finish. The Belles responded by leading set three wire-to-wire as well as having just as firm of a grip on the fourth and final set.  

Elsa Lamphere led all players with a season-high 15 kills for the sophomore. She hit .294 for the match, one of four Belles to hit over .250 on the night.  

Delaney Fuller was not too far off from her teammate, recording 13 kills and hitting .296.  

Kailyn Gilbreath led all players with 26 assists, as well as not committing an attacking error as she buried seven kills. Teammate Jaedyn Woolley added 14 assists of her own off the bench.  

Baleigh Allen recorded seven total blocks, including two solo blocks, and libero Chloe Patton accounted for 40 percent of all Belles’ digs, with the senior being responsible for 16 of the Belles’ 40 digs.  

The Belles improve to 10-2 on the season overall and 3-0 in conference play; they are back in action tomorrow afternoon in Lawton, Oklahoma versus Cameron.  

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ALAMOSA, Colo. – The second-ranked Belles, in their first road match of the season, suffer their first defeat of the season at the hands of Adams State. The Grizzlies hit .298 for the match while the Belles could only muster a .173 attack percentage.  

The Belles outkilled the hosts for the match, as well as in the first set, but 12 attack errors to only 11 kills put the visitors in the red.  

Baleigh Allen and Sophia Berg led the team in kills, each recording 10 kills. Those two, along with Grace White, who recorded eight kills of her own, were the only three Belles to record an attack percentage above .100.  

Kailyn Gilbreath assisted 32 times and Makenna Hanssen led the Belles with 11 digs on the night.  

The Belles are back in action on Friday when they compete in the Colorado Premier Tournament.

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Wayland Baptist made its home debut by going 3-0 over the weekend, capping the sweep with wins Saturday over Langston, 25-10, 25-12, 25-13, and Our Lady of the Lake University, 25-27, 25-17, 28-26, 25-20.

“That’s a good start to our home season,” WBU coach Jim Giacomazzi said as his team improved to 8-2 with a seven-match win streak. The Pioneers are 2-0 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.

Wayland opened SAC play with a 3-0 win over Central Christian on Friday. OLLU (4-2) also swept both Central Christian and Langston prior to meeting the Pioneers in the unofficial championship match of the weekend.

“Our Lady of the Lake was in the (national) tournament last year, so it’s always good to beat a team that’s nationally recognized,” Giacomazzi said.

Wayland got it done with an excellent blocking performance. The Pioneers produced just one solo block but 28 block-assists, including nine by Alexa Hinojos which is one shy of the school record held by all-American Shahala Hawkins. Lucie Mahelova and Jayla Schultz ended with five block-assists each.

“Our blockers worked really hard to line up correctly and stop their offense. They did a good job there,” Giacomazzi said. “Alexa did a super job. That’s one of the things you want to see.”

The coach also highlighted his team’s digging. Wayland ended with 85 digs, six more than OLLU’s 79. “They are a good digging team, so the fact that we outdug them says a lot,” Giacomazzi said.

Amber Daniel led the way with a career-high 29 digs, followed by Ariel Marquez with 19 and Mahelova, who had 47 assists, with 10. “Amber and Ariel both had good nights.”

“We kept our reception errors down (four), so I was very pleased with that. We talked a lot about blocks and block penetration. We made the adjustments we needed in that fourth set.”

Tatijana Markic and Wendy Cobbah (.450) paced the Pioneers’ hitters with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. “Wendy did a good job. Her and Paxton Patterson are tag-teaming that position and had 19 kills between them with only four errors. That’s a lot of juice coming from that side of the court. Tatijana’s 12 kills are good, we just have to minimize her errors.”

Against Langston (3-3, 0-2 SAC), Daniel ended with a team-high nine kills and 10 digs, while Patterson had eight kills and hit .462. Mahelova produced 24 assists while Markic recorded four aces and Jayda Nelson three.

Wayland’s seven-match win streak will be tested Tuesday when the Pioneers host NCAA Division II Lubbock Christian at 7 p.m.

“LCU is a solid team with a new coach. They’ll serve a little tougher than we’ve seen,” Giacomazzi said.

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SAN ANGELO – The top-ranked Belles completed their weekend at the 13^th annual Kathleen Brasfield Invitational with a pair of victories over Anderson (SC) and Northwestern Oklahoma, coming out of the weekend undefeated.

The Belles extend their winning streak at the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational to 26 matches in a row, dating back to 2014, as well as continuing their current home winning streak of 30 matches, having last lost inside the Junell Center on Oct. 17, 2018.

The Belles also currently hold a 13-match winning streak dating back to last spring’s opening round of the LSC Tournament.

The Belles’ first match of the day against Anderson was a tale of two halves. The Trojans recorded a negative attack percentage through the first two sets, while the Belles only recorded a .065 attack percentage; however, the third and the fourth sets saw both teams’ attacks come to life, with the Belles hitting .307 and the visitors hit .392 en route to taking the third sets from the hosts.

In a repeat of both matches to open the season, Delaney Fuller proved to be the Belles’ most lethal attacker with a game-high 15 kills. The outside hitter from California also contributed 14 digs, giving her a double-double.

Kailyn Gilbreath joined Fuller in the double-double department, burying 10 kills to go along with 41 assists.

Grace White and Sophia Berg recorded identical stat lines, recording 11 kills and hitting .240 each.

White’s four blocks as well as a game-high 16 digs from Chloe Patton and 13 from Makenna Hanssen led the Belles’ defensive effort.

The Belles’ final game of the weekend, as well as the final game of the invitational, featured the hosts holding their opposition to a negative attack percentage, as well as recording more kills in the first set (21) as the Rangers did in the entire match (14).

Despite only playing in two of the three sets, Fuller recorded a game-high seven kills, and Gilbreath assisted 21 times in the same amount of time.

Chloee Holden recorded five kills in 11 attack attempts, and Chelsie Freeman (three), Emma LaBarge (three) and Sydney Mundkowsky (two) added multiple kills in their limited time on the court; additionally, freshman setter Erin Jones assisted ten times.

Fuller, Gilbreath and Berg were named to the all-tournament team for their efforts on the court this weekend.

Fuller recorded 45 kills and four service aces, hitting .299; Gilbreath notched 20 kills and 126 assists; and Berg contributed 28 kills and five blocks.

The Belles now hit the road for a trip to Colorado for a trio of matches next week.

Kathleen Brasfield All-Tournament-Team
ASU – Delaney Fuller
ASU – Kailyn Gilbreath
ASU – Sophia Berg
TAMUK – Ayanna Jackson
TAMUK – Jackie Alanis
TAMUK – Nicole Murff
Anderson – Noelle Knutson
Anderson – Regan Duty
WCU – Jordyn Todd
WCU – Caroline Parker
ECU – Thalianette Garcia
NWOSU – Addison Wimmer

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DURANT, Okla. – The University of Texas at Tyler volleyball team scored in bunches and flexed their offensive strengths in a 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-18) sweep of Southern Nazarene to open up the Southeastern Classic and the 2021 season in Durant, Okla. on Thursday night.

The win is the 13^th straight regular season victory for the Patriots dating back to a 2021 spring schedule in which the squad went a perfect 12-0, and showcased a deep, and diverse offensive attack for the second straight season for UT Tyler. The Patriots hit .344 as a team, and totaled 43 kills on the night, utilizing near double-digit kills totals from a trio of players.

Sophomore Evelyn Torres led the way for the Patriots with 10 kills, six of which came in the opening set, while Christina Escamilla and Mikayla Ware each contributed nine kills to the effort. Torres carried the offensive effort in that opening 25-21 set victory for the Patriots, who settled in and cruised through the second and third sets, keeping the Crimson Storm to less than 20 points in each set victory.

The Patriots out-killed Southern Nazarene by a 43-to-29 margin in the match, and never relinquished the lead in either the second or third set after falling behind 1-0 in the first point of the second set.

That momentum generated through the second and third set got it’s start at the end of the opening set for UT Tyler as the Patriots turned an 18-18 tie towards the latter stages of the set into a 25-21 win thanks to a 7-3 run. Six of those seven points came by way of a kill for UT Tyler, changing the tide of the match in sole favor of the Patriots.

The second set was evident of that shift following the events of the latter stages of the opening set, as the Patriots opened up an 11-6 lead in the second frame and never looked back, winning by a 25-14 margin. The Patriots hit .441 and .370 as a team in the first two sets, and kept the momentum in their favor for the third set victory and the sweep.

UT Tyler left no doubt in that 25-18 third set victory, scoring five out of the final six points in the match.

As impressive as a Patriot offense was, senior Savannah Guzman continued to work hard on the defensive end with 18 digs to allow the UT Tyler offense to get to work. The 2021 Spring All-LSC selection joined Ware with double-digit scoring totals as the Patriots out-dug the Crimson Storm by a 46-to-34 total.

The season-opening win displayed exactly what many predicted for the Patriots heading into 2021, a relentless offensive attack capable of using multiple avenues for scoring points.

UT Tyler will look to extend it’s regular season winning streak tomorrow afternoon in match number two for the squad in the Southeastern Classic against Emporia State at noon. Play will finish up for UT Tyler in the tournament on Saturday, with a pair of matches against New Mexico Highlands and Central Oklahoma.

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SAN ANGELO – The Belle Volleyball team, the top-ranked team in the country, opens their fall 2021 season this Friday and Saturday inside the Junell Center when they host the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational. The Belles are looking to continue off their momentum from this past spring, a season that saw them go 17-2 overall and win both the Lone Star Conference Tournament as well as the AVCA National Championship Tournament.

The Belles, who were picked to repeat as LSC champions in the conference’s preseason poll, start their season off with four teams that went a combined 29-24 this past spring, good enough for a .547 winning percentage.

The Belles return four of their five all-conference selections from this previous spring, including the reigning player of the year Kailyn Gilbreath. The senior has averaged 3.45 kills per set in her time at Angelo State, as well as recording a .316 attack percentage.

Other all-conference returnees for the Belles include libero Chloe Patton, who averaged 5.42 digs per set; Sophia Berg, second on the team this past spring in kills (138) and blocks (50.0); and Grace White, who recorded 94 kills and 35.0 blocks.

The Belles also return LSC All-Freshman selection Elsa Lamphere and her 125 kills from this past spring.

Head coach Chuck Waddington adds five new players to this season’s team – one transfer to go along with four true freshmen. Junior right side Chloee Holden joins after transferring from Southeastern Louisiana; the four new freshmen are Jaedyn Woolley, a defensive specialist from Amarillo; Caleigh Enax, a defensive specialist from Haslet; Emma LaBarge, a middle from Oxford, Michigan; and Erin Jones, a setter from New Braunfels.

East Central is the first team on the slate for the Belles, scheduled to start at noon on Friday. The Tigers went 5-7 this past spring, advancing to the second round of the Great American Conference tournament. They are led offensively by outside hitter Thalianette Garcia, a second team all-conference selection, who averaged 3.13 kills per set in the spring.

The Belles’ game on Friday at 6 p.m. is against Western Colorado, who went 6-8 this past spring. The Mountaineers return their two top attackers from this past spring in Jordyn Todd and Caroline Parker, who combined for 292 kills en route to both being named all-RMAC selections.

On Saturday, Anderson will be the Belles first opponent, scheduled for a noon start time. The Trojans went 9-3 this past spring, with all four of their all-conference selections as well as a two-time South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year in Todd Hay, who has led the Trojans to an 87-22 record in his four seasons as head coach.

The Kathleen Brasfield Invitational wraps up with the final game of the weekend seeing Northwestern Oklahoma State taking on the Belles at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The Rangers return All-GAC First team selection Kaydee Honeycutt, who led the GAC in kills and points this past spring as the Rangers went 9-6 overall and advanced to the quarterfinals of the GAC tournament.

Following this weekend’s games, the Belles will go on the road to Colorado for a trio of matches next week.

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